


Secrets That Left the Appearance of a Spiral

by boblemon



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-11
Updated: 2014-05-15
Packaged: 2018-01-24 08:31:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1598366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boblemon/pseuds/boblemon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I was unbelievably deep in love/ Secrets that left the appearance of a spiral</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue/Chapter one

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted at my livejournal community [here](http://saigo-no-lady.livejournal.com/6476.html). This version has been lightly edited from the original for smoother reading and grammar purposes.

_恋焦がれた嘘みたいに  
秘密めいたままスパイラル  
  
I was unbelievably deep in love  
Secrets that left the appearance of a spiral*_  
  
  
Prologue:  
  
Ninomiya Kazunari and Ohno Satoshi had been together for about a year.  
  
Their relationship had started as gentle flirting and stolen glances in the coffee shop that Ohno was employed at during the week (the one that Nino had suddenly started showing up to on a daily basis to work on a report, song lyrics, a short story—anything he could use as an excuse), blushing when their hands touched or grinning as they chatted over Nino’s latest project.  
  
Eventually the younger had invited the older to a bar one evening, for a show that he was putting on—well, it wasn’t really Nino’s show, he wasn’t even on stage, but he had written some of the music (the guitar part)—and had two free tickets to use and, he explained while rambling, he didn’t really have anyone else to go with, most of his friends were busy or worked on the weekend, and Ohno seemed to like music, well, okay, he didn’t know that much about it, but he seemed interested when Nino talked about it, didn’t he?  
  
When the song writer had finally paused for air, Ohno smiled and assured him he’d be more than happy to join him.  
  
That night led to a series of dates over the course of two months before Nino finally cornered Ohno into kissing him, and the rest—as they say—is history.  
  
Aiba was Ohno’s friend from before he had met Nino, but the two hit it off the first time Ohno brought the nursery teacher over, despite the fact that Nino didn’t like kids.  
  
Aiba had sort of, kind of, been dating a man named Sakurai Sho for a year, and when Nino found out he teased Aiba about it for several hours while the teacher blushed and tried to pull himself together enough to respond to the jokes. But Ohno knew that Sho was a very nice man who treated Aiba with respect, something that he though his bumbling friend didn’t get enough of. Aiba was very smart after all, he just didn’t show it most of the time.  
  
And, on the day that Nino was moving his things into Ohno’s apartment, Matsumoto Jun came into their lives.  
  
Nino already knew Jun, although Ohno never heard how, and he was possibly—Nino admitted with an embarrassed smile—the only man he could call his friend besides Ohno and the people Ohno had introduced him to.  
  
So Ohno squished Aiba and Sho over a little to give some room in his heart to Jun (the other half being left for Nino), and prepared a nice sushi dinner to thank him for his help with moving. Even though Nino assured him that Jun had already been _compensated_ (Ohno thought he meant _threatened_ ) enough for his work.  
  
They became friends quickly and Ohno considered that maybe his life was complete. He woke up with Kazu in his arms, got lazily ready for work at a late 11 a.m., and could go to shows, amusement parks, and video game competitions on the weekend with his friends.  
  
But one day that all changed.  
  
Ohno was late coming home from work. Nino tried to distract himself with attempting to cook food (which wasn’t a success in the way that he had something to eat, but he was quite distracted with trying to keep everything from burning), because this wasn’t that unusual. Sometimes Ohno got sidetracked by a kitty that had wandered into the park by itself, or was talked into drinking with someone from work, or would meet up with Aiba to help him with some of the kids (although Nino usually got a call when something like that happened), or sometimes he simply had started a sketch during his break that he _had_ to finish.  
  
Tonight, though, it was none of those things.  
  
Nino got a call at about nine, and just when he was about to pick it up and chide Ohno for not calling sooner, he noticed that the caller ID read _Aiba-chan_ instead.  
  
“Hey, what’s up?”  
  
“Nino?” The younger man was worried immediately by the tone of his friend’s voice.  
  
“Aiba, what’s wrong?”  
  
“Turn on the TV. Ch-channel 4.”  
  
He dove for the remote, keeping Aiba on the line, wondering what why in the world he would need to watch the TV right now. Sometimes the teacher would call and tell him this _awesome show was on with baby elephants eating bananas_ , but Aiba hadn’t said anything remotely like that and sounded more upset than anything.  
  
After a few seconds of nothing except the buzzing of a commercial, a talk show, then a news report, the next sound was Nino’s cell dropping to the ground.  
  
“-in front of a local bank approximately two hours ago. The body has not been identified yet, but the bicycle was registered to a man named ‘Ohno Satoshi’. The police are still investigating his involvement in the accident.”  
  
The screen showed a mid-sized semi truck stopped in front of the before mentioned bank, a small area roped off by yellow tape and flashing lights for the people walking around it. Suddenly the report switched to a picture of a crumpled bicycle, one that was mangled almost beyond recognition.   
  
It was bright blue, just like Ohno’s.  
  
Nino fell to the floor as the report continued.  
  
“For those of you just tuning in, we’re at the scene of a traffic incident that occurred roughly two hours ago. A man was injured while riding his bicycle through a cross walk and has been sent to the hospital. The official report was released a few minutes ago, the victim declared as ‘Dead on Arrival’, but now doctors are working to discover the identity of the victim. The bicycle is registered to a man-“  
  
Nino buried his head in the couch and cried as Aiba tried to call his name from the abandoned phone.  
  
It… It wasn’t possible.   
  
Satoshi couldn’t be… _dead_.  
  
Jun was over in a few minutes, holding Nino as he sobbed, and Aiba and Sho were right after him.  
  
They watched the report until it was over, trying to keep all the details straight. Aiba kept saying _they didn’t identify the body—maybe Ohno’s bike was stolen?_  
  
But Satoshi didn’t come home that night, or the next, or the next.  
  
Nino sat on the couch staring at the door for what felt like a year, Jun or Sho occasionally coming over to shove food down his throat over the course of the next few days.  
  
Eventually Nino was convinced he had to come forward as the ‘partner’ of Ohno, to at least see if that had really been him at the hospital.   
  
The DNA result came back soon enough and when the doctor told him it was a match, Nino cried again, holding his head in his hands, and didn’t leave Ohno’s apartment for a week.

 

+++

 

Chapter one:  
  
Ohno Satoshi considered himself a happy man. One with probably more secrets than anyone should have, but happy nonetheless.  
  
Ohno Satoshi also considered himself lucky in most cases, but then again, luck, unlike happiness, was something that was bound to run out.  
  
“Mr. Ohno, I don’t think you quite understand the situation you’re in.”  
  
Oh, he understood. He’d been in the same situation more times than this suave looking man in front of him had probably had sex.  
  
The man slapped him hard across the face, forcing Ohno’s teeth and cheek to meet in a very unpleasant way; more blood filled his mouth and he casually spit it out onto the floor before turning back to the black clad captor.  
  
“I already told you,” he replied conversationally, but with maybe a little pinch of annoyance, “I’m retired.”  
  
The sadistic man in front of him grinned in irritation at the same answer Ohno’d been giving him for the last hour—or three. Ohno had never been a good judge of time.  
  
“We’re bringing you out of retirement, Mr. Ohno.”  
  
It was the same response that he’d heard twice, but the man still didn’t elaborate past what he’d already told his victim.  
  
“The job should be easy for someone of your caliber,” came the next argument. This one had only been delivered once before now. “Boss guarantees you’ll be freed once it’s completed.”  
  
Like Ohno believed that. Being held against one’s will often brought out desperation to accept any offer the other party gave, but he was experienced enough to know never to trust something like that. The only way he’d be getting out of here was if he did it himself.  
  
Ohno didn’t respond and gave his adversary the best indifferent look that he had, which caused the other man’s face to twist in anger.  
  
“Listen, you son of a fucking whore-“   
  
The force of this hit was so hard that Ohno was sent to the floor, along with the chair he was tied to (with metal chords which were really starting to dig into his skin). Ohno’s anticipation of the attack was enough to spare his head, but his shoulder was jarred when it met the concrete floor of the concrete cell, and the man stepped over to kick him in the stomach.  
  
Before he could do any more damage, though, a knock came to the door and Ohno took a second while his tormentors back was towards him to scrunch up his face in the pain that was coursing through his body. He was a little out of shape.  
  
“I can see physical torture didn’t work, but I can’t say I’m surprised.”  
  
Ohno tried not to let his interest show as the new addition entered the room.  
  
“Ohno Satoshi, world renown stealth agent—if you know who to ask anyway,” the man paused and Ohno wasn’t sure he liked the sound of his old title with his new name. “A pleasure to meet you.”  
  
With a sadistic grin, the man leaned over and held his arm out for a handshake at Ohno who was still lying sideways on the floor, and then chuckled as if barely realizing that the prisoner couldn’t return the action.  
  
The bulky guard in black from before picked Ohno and his chair up easily and righted them in the center of the barren room, and the new man looked down on the ex-agent with a wicked and pleased expression.  
  
“Well, time to step it up a notch, then.”  
  
Pulling a small phone with a large screen from his pocket, the guy poked it a few times before holding it out for Ohno to see. His first reaction was to look away, since he had no idea what was coming, but the audio was enough to convey to him the message the man wanted to send.  
  
It was a news report about an accident.  
  
He heard his name and out of the corner of his eye caught a picture of his bike smashed to smithereens. _He liked that bike._  
  
In the back of his head he had been worried about what he would tell Kazu when he got home, how he would explain bruises in places that had never seen daylight (just lamplight), or why he had been gone for three days, but that wasn’t exactly his first priority right now.  
  
Hell, it wasn’t even a priority anymore. Kazu would probably be happy enough to just have Ohno _alive_. Especially if he’d witnessed that report, which he no doubt had.  
  
The man in charge smiled at his prisoner in satisfaction and turned off the recording, putting the phone back into his pocket.  
  
“That’s right, we staged your death.”  
  
Ohno didn’t care so much about that.  
  
“And we paid the doctor off to tell _him_ that the man that died was you.”  
  
Ohno didn’t care about that either—except for the implication of Nino’s name.  
  
He’d gotten sloppy with covering up his personal life. After five years of being out of the loop, he’d begun to think that he’d successfully made his retreat from that world of breaking the law, except not really breaking the law because the government was the one paying him and covering his ass.  
  
The words out of his captor’s mouth next were the ones he hadn’t been expecting and were dreading the most.  
  
“That’s right. We’ve found your boyfriend. Kazu, right?”  
  
Ohno tried not to wince, but he knew that something was apparent on his face from the man’s widening grin. He pulled out his phone again, and this time Ohno made himself look.  
  
In the tiny square was an overhead view of Ohno’s apartment. The camera must have been hidden on top of his entertainment center, but when Nino had moved in, Ohno had checked everything twice just to be sure…although he hadn’t in several months. How had a camera made its way into his apartment? Just another indication that he had gotten soft.  
  
There was some audio, which was low quality and scratchy, but it was enough to make out loud crying and Ohno was completely positive that that was Nino collapsed against the couch with head his head in his hands.  
  
“I’d be sure to bring something bigger next time,” the sadist teased, replacing the phone in his pocket again, much to Ohno’s distress.  
  
Shit, if they knew about Kazu…  
  
Ohno took a few seconds to try to explicitly tell himself how far he’d go to protect Nino and immediately realized he’d do just about anything.  
  
The man with the phone smiled.  
  
“I see you’re finally starting to come around…Are you willing to listen to our little proposition now?”  
  
Ohno didn’t respond with anything smart ass this time. He didn’t respond at all, and that seemed to be what the man was looking for.  
  
“Boss wants you to steal a piece of art currently on display at the National Museum of Japanese History.”  
  
Ah. So that’s what this was about. Well, as long as they didn’t want any insider information from him about his old job or the people he used to work with, he could probably give them what they wanted without worrying too much.  
  
“It’s a replication of part of the Genji Scrolls done by Yoshitaka Amano, although it’s worth a fortune on its own, apparently. Not sure why, but Boss has his eye on it for several years… I’m sure as an ‘artist’ you can appreciate his desire, right?” he laughed, and Ohno wondered how much more they knew about him and Nino. That was probably exactly why this asshole had said that. “Something that simply can’t be bought, but it’s not so world class that armies would be dedicated to its retrieval. Perfect for a one man job, too. You won’t be needing any help.”  
  
Maybe it seemed too easy, too perfect, but Ohno already realized where this was going and had no choice but to comply, so he hoped that that was the case.  
  
“So, we let you go, give you what you need to get the job done, you bring the original back to us… and we’ll let you go and _not_ kill Ninomiya. How does that sound? Pretty sweet deal, right?”  
  
Ohno actually considered it a pretty sweet deal—assuming Mr. Boss followed through—since he was usually offered a ‘quick and painless death’ instead.  
  
“I don’t know, I kind of feel like we need to threaten him a little more,” the bulky guard chuckled and Ohno recalled the last three hours in which the man had taken pleasure in torturing him.  
  
“Haha. You might actually have something there, Knuckles. I guess we should make sure he knows how much power we have. Can’t have him running away once we let him go, right?”  
  
The man pulled out his all powerful cell phone and typed a message, and a few seconds later there was another knock on the door.  
  
And that was all Ohno needed to know how bad the situation really was.  
  
“…Jun?” Ohno’s voice was deep and the bitter taste of blood assaulted his tongue as it moved.  
  
“Yo.”  
  
Jun raised his hand in a casual greeting and sent Ohno a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.  
  
“No…way…” The surprise at the situation was showing on his face, but he didn’t care. If Jun was working for these guys there was absolutely no chance that he’d make it to his apartment, save Nino and retreat to an unnamed town on the outskirts of the country.  
  
“Sorry, Oh-chan.” Jun used his endearing nickname, which made the man with the phone grin wickedly.  
  
Ohno swallowed and looked down at the floor with a dead expression. They had him by the balls. It was the first time he’d ever felt this way; completely helpless.  
  
Someone laughed and the bulky body guard hit Ohno halfheartedly on the side of his face.  
  
“So you’re ready to cooperate? Good. I’ll prepare the information and return tomorrow. Until then, I’ll leave you in Knuckles’ care.”  
  
Knuckles laughed behind Ohno’s head and his hand was pulling the prisoner’s hair tightly in his grip, anticipating their night together.  
  
“Thanks, Yokoyama,” he chuckled and it took all of Ohno’s effort not to cringe.  
  
The man with the phone nodded at the two of them and then exited through the only door of the concrete room.  
  
Jun took a step forward and when he gently pulled Ohno’s tender face to look at him, Ohno’s eyes were empty.  
  
“I promise I’ll take care of Nino,” Jun said, and even though Knuckles laughed sadistically behind them, Jun’s tone was serious and his gaze held an apologetic expression.  
  
Ohno simply stared past him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I was unbelievably deep in love/ Secrets that left the appearance of a spiral*

Yokoyama brought a TV in with him the next day as well as a file of papers.  
  
“Thought you’d like an update,” he explained, turning on the electronic and switching the channel to a live video feed.  
  
Ohno tried not to watch, but he essentially had no choice.  
  
Jun was in his apartment, sitting on his couch, chatting with his boyfriend.  
  
It was just like it had always been, only now Ohno’s chest ached every time Jun touched Nino, every time they looked at each other. He thought he would start crying when Jun pulled the other man against his chest and Nino tightly gripped onto his shirt.  
  
“Fuck you,” Ohno whispered to Yokoyama, or the TV (he wasn’t really sure), but the video feed kept playing while his captor began giving him details about their targeted item.  
  
It wouldn’t be hard, Ohno knew that even though he was only half paying attention. He’d be in trouble if he was caught, probably go to jail for life—more because he’d started work again after supposedly retiring than for actually stealing something—even if it was years before they found out who it was. Even if he got away completely, he would probably never be able to be with Nino, or anyone, again. Not only would they be associated with him if he was punished for his deeds, but they could be used against him for his skills again, just like now. He’d found out the hard way that love wasn’t worth the risk. Ohno had hoped that his attempt at changing his life, finding happiness, learning what it was like to work hard every day just to make your rent payment, would be successful, but he’d heard over and over again that once you were in _that_ profession, you could never go back.  
  
Halfway through the afternoon—Jun had helped Nino to the bedroom to sleep before he had gone out, leaving the video quite boring and tedious to watch—Yokoyama finally untied him and Ohno allowed some of his wounds to be treated with an expressionless face. Even when the bastard rubbed alcohol in the cut on the side of his neck, Ohno couldn’t even let out a hiss.  
  
After a few bandages and a tasteless lunch of gruel, Ohno was taken to another room under the assumption that he was completely willing to cooperate with them. Without speaking, he wrote out a short list of equipment he would need and was locked in a room once more (this one had a small, hard bed) with the promise that tomorrow he’d be taken to the Museum that the piece of art was kept at to further plan his attack.  
  
That night he just laid on the bed, stared at the ceiling, and envisioned the video feed of Nino. What was he doing now? Was Jun with him?  
  
It was Yokoyama again in the morning, dressed in casual clothes and a pair of sunglasses that made him look like a vampire, and he provided Ohno with a clean t-shirt and a hat in an attempt to cover some of the injuries on his face.  
  
Even though Ohno was past convinced that he had no choice but to help, Yokoyama gave him the video feed of Nino staring helplessly at the TV that wasn’t even on as they drove to the museum.  
  
“You do realize that, with just the two of us and you being more adept at combat than me, you could easily escape.”  
  
Ohno was watching as Aiba entered and Nino fell into his arms, crying again, and he felt relieved. He could trust Aiba.   
  
But then again, he thought he could trust Jun, too.  
  
“Just, tap, knock me out, kick me out on the side of the road, and bam, you have a car at your disposal even.”  
  
How long had it been? A week? Maybe longer? No doubt Nino had heard the false report from the doctor already.  
  
“It’s even got a full tank of gas.”  
  
Was Nino trying to move on or was he going to just be miserable over his lover’s death? The captive honestly didn’t know which he wanted more.  
  
“Shit, this guy really means that much to you, huh?”  
  
Ohno was wondering if they were there yet so Yokoyama would shut the fuck up.  
  
“Even though you’ll probably never be able to see him again?”  
  
“It’s better that you killed me,” Ohno replied suddenly. His staged death would make the remains of his life easier to deal with after everything was done, and Yokoyama was bound to ask anyway with the way his mouth was wanking off.  
  
Either he surprised Yokoyama with his response or his interest had been sated because the driver finally stopped talking and concentration on the road in front of them.   
  
Aiba was now trying to force Nino to eat something, but the song writer was staring at him lifelessly and not cooperating. It made Ohno’s heart break again.  
  
Yokoyama was pulling into a parking lot the next time Ohno looked up, and he sighed when he realized they had arrived.  
  
When Ohno tried to give the fancy phone back to his captor, Yokoyama smirked and told him to keep it. It couldn’t make any phone calls, but he could watch his precious boyfriend any time he wanted to.  
  
It was almost a curse, having that freedom.  
  
The two of them walked through the museum together, masquerading as regular sightseers, and Yokoyama pointed out the piece of art that exactly matched the description that had been given in the paperwork. It was the size of a page from a regular sketch book, the binding was even intact, with a huge signature in the corner. It was part of the main special display, in a frame of Plexiglas, encased in bullet proof plastic, and surrounded in that special velvet rope, giving two feet of free space on each side. The actual picture looked really tiny after all of that protection.  
  
But even then, to steal it would be easy. Just from being inside the building, Ohno could already tell that the security was pretty standard, probably just cameras and lasers that could be easily neutralized. Once those were taken care of, the rope could be stepped over, the bullet proof plastic cut, and then he could just take the Plexiglas frame with him once he checked it for a tracker.   
  
After Ohno made a vague comment about being tired and yawned, Yokoyama grinned at him past his sunglasses and they returned to the car.  
  
The apartment was empty when Ohno looked again. He wondered what happened, but if Aiba was close he couldn’t be too worried, even with his doubts about Jun still in mind.  
  
On the way back, Yokoyama didn’t say a word and Ohno watched his empty couch.  
  
Nino came home with Aiba, Sho, and Jun after Ohno had been fed another meal of gruel and locked in his room with the tiny bed. The prisoner watched them in a daze until late into the night. He couldn’t even bring himself to switch it off long enough to open the back and attempt to rewire the interior to make a phone call.  
  
Who could he contact, anyway? Aiba? He wasn’t sure doing that would make a difference. And Ohno’d already lost touch most of the other associates from his working days, so there was no one he could trust to help him, and they probably wouldn’t anyway, since there was nothing in it for them.  
  
Aiba left first with Sho, much to Ohno’s misery, and Jun pulled Nino to him on the couch.  
  
Ohno wondered if Jun was trying to torture him, knowing that the prisoner was no doubt watching them from afar. He tried to turn up the volume, but even then all he could hear were scratches. Once he thought Nino had said _I miss him_ , but maybe that was just a trick of his imagination.  
  
Since Ohno wouldn’t be put into action until Monday night, Ohno spent the next day watching the video feed too.  
  
Nino didn’t get out of bed until noon, and even then he simply moved to the couch.  
  
He picked up a video game paddle, stared at the TV, and then collapsed onto the sofa where he spent the afternoon not moving at all until Aiba returned.  
  
The teacher was trying to be happy, but he said something after a few minutes and Nino suddenly stood up and began yelling.  
  
 _We’re not having a fucking funeral…! I can’t-_  
  
Nino began sobbing again and Aiba caught him before he fell to the floor.  
  
Ohno wanted to tell Nino that he wasn’t dead, to wait for him, but he knew that yelling at the phone would do no good, and that it was better for Nino to think he was dead anyway.  
  
Once again Jun came over and prepared dinner for the three of them, and a few hours later Aiba returned home in a sober mood.  
  
Just like before, Ohno watched as Jun pulled Nino against him and they sat on the couch together.  
  
He watched as Jun kissed his precious Kazu lightly on the lips, limp in his grasp, and then as it deepened.  
  
If it had been anyone else, he might have been able to cope, saying that Nino needed to move on, that this was only natural when your significant other passed away, but right now, his heart was wretched with the fact that Jun was growing so much closer to his boyfriend by the second.  
  
The battery was dead when Ohno woke up on Monday morning.  
  
Yokoyama brought the supplies he needed in the early afternoon and took the phone, although he didn’t share any words with Ohno about charging it for him.  
  
And it didn’t come back to him before Yokoyama was driving him in the same car as before to the museum, the sun already set and darkness overtaking the city.  
  
Ohno tried to push thoughts of Nino and Jun out of his mind while he did his job. He maneuvered the floor just like he planned, disabled the cameras just as planned, stepped over the velvet rope just as planned.  
  
He was in a white suit (which covered most of his face) because it blended in with the sparkling floor of the museum, and when he finished cutting the case open and retrieved the piece of Plexiglas covered art, he took a few seconds to examine it for something that shouldn’t be there.  
  
Yokoyama had provided him with an electronics corrupter, which should do the trick if there was anything like a tracer attached to the casing, but just in case Ohno checked it himself and found nothing.  
  
Carefully unzipping his jumpsuit, Ohno inserted the stolen item, which fit snugly against his chest, and then proceeded to make his exit to where Yokoyama was waiting for him.  
  
There weren’t any cops or secret police in the parking lot when he arrived, and so after Yokoyama examined the piece of art, even though he seemed pretty confident that Ohno wasn’t going to trick him, the two retreated to Boss’s base.  
  
The job was just as easy as it had been promised and, bitterly, the ex-agent questioned whether the man that had put him up to this really considered this little scrap of paper worth so much that he would tempt, not only the wraith of the museum and the owner of the piece, but also Ohno and the government in general. Maybe it was all just a game, a game to see how far Ohno could be pushed until he retaliated, some twisted entertainment for the mastermind behind all of this.  
  
Ohno was led back to his tiny cell and he was about to ask for the phone again (he should feel lucky that he’d gotten it at all instead of pressing his luck) when Yokoyama explained that Boss would come to speak with him after the authenticity of the item was confirmed. That was probably either with the intention to let Ohno go, as according to their agreement, or to explain what would happen with him from now on.  
  
Because really, they could keep him under their thumb for as long they wanted to. As long as he continued to be willing to sacrifice himself for Nino.  
  
Waiting patiently and feeling much calmer than he probably should right now, Ohno stared at the wall in front of him, envisioning his empty couch and trying to will Nino to appear on it.  
  
The door opened and Ohno turned slowly, jarred out of his revere.  
  
His first reaction was to stand up, his heart feeling light, but before he could smile, he froze, realizing immediately what was wrong.  
  
Nino was standing in front of him, but he was holding the Plexiglas frame encasing the precious art piece in his tiny hands, smiling happily.  
  
“Thank you, Oh-chan!” he giggled, just like he usually would when Ohno would make him dinner, or bring him home extra cookies from work, or play video games with him instead of sleeping.  
  
Ohno couldn’t respond.  
  
Nino entered the room with two men following him, Jun and Knuckles, and continued in his chipper voice, although Ohno could tell there was a sarcastic edge to his tone, “I’ve wanted this for so long! Since it was made, really. But it hasn’t been on display since then, until now at least. And I finally have it, thanks to you!”  
  
Taking an unsteady seat on the bed behind him and unable to look at the man who he had convinced himself he was in love with enough to sacrifice the rest of his life, living or dead, Ohno focused only on taking breaths and not on completely breaking down mentally. It was something that had been part of his training, but was probably the portion that Ohno was the worst at.  
  
“Sorry for tricking you,” Nino continued after a second, running his fingers contently around the edge of the stolen treasure, but his tone sounded more playful than apologetic. “I knew you wouldn’t get it for me if I just asked, so I had to twist your arm a little.”  
  
That was an understatement, but there was no way Ohno could open his mouth to correct Nino in the state his mind was in.  
  
The last year, _two years_ , of his life had been a lie. Ohno knew that he had his own façade he was showing Nino, but he never imagined that his perfect boyfriend would have one of his own, or that their relationship had probably been built in anticipation of this moment.  
  
After he got over the shock of the realization, several thoughts zoomed through his head, overlapping and causing all sort of confusion. What was Nino going to do with him now? Did Ohno love him still, knowing what he really was? He could leave with no regrets, abandon everything he had created with the other man. Or he could stay and work as Nino’s lap dog, doing whatever he said because he _did_ love him.  
  
When he didn’t respond after several minutes, Nino pouted a little. “You’re ignoring me.”  
  
Ohno still didn’t look up, so the boss gingerly handed his treasure to Jun and shooed the two men away, although at the last minute he grabbed Knuckles arm and curtly asked _why does Oh-chan have bruises on his face?_  
  
Once they were left alone, Nino closed the door slowly and stalked towards Ohno on the bed, who passively fell backwards when he was pushed.  
  
He couldn’t see straight, couldn’t focus on anything.  
  
Nino straddled him and pushed his hands above his head, but Ohno still felt nothing.  
  
“Satoshi…” he said softly, in the way that the older man usual found arousing, but his eyes didn’t even shift to look at him, so Nino forced him to move his head with a firm hand.  
  
“Don’t ignore me!” Nino frowned. “Aren’t you going to say ‘I can’t believe it!’ or something?”  
  
He didn’t.  
  
“Say you hate me,” Nino commanded after a moment of silence, but it simply stretched out again.  
  
“Say you never want to see my fucking face again.” His voice was escalating, face twisting in irritation and another emotion that Ohno couldn’t bring himself to place.  
  
“Say _something_ ,” he almost yelled, shaking Ohno’s hands where they were pinned above his head.  
  
When the reply was still immobile silence, Nino crashed their lips together, pushing his tongue into Ohno’s mouth. Ohno simply let him do what he wanted with no response. He envisioned Jun kissing Nino on his couch and wondered if that was all a play, an act. It had to be, right?  
  
Nino sat up again, looking at Ohno in fury, and slapped him.  
  
It wasn’t as hard as Knuckles, but his head still tilted to the side so that his deadened gaze was directed at the wall next to him instead of Nino.  
  
When that still didn’t do anything, he began shaking Ohno's whole body, and then collapsed against his chest.  
  
“Say you love me,” he pleaded quietly, and Ohno finally felt his chest tense up, every nerve in his body burning as breathe suddenly coursed through him again.  
  
He turned his head to glare at the younger man, who looked up at him immediately.  
  
“You’re not the Nino I love,” Ohno said coldly, and was surprised to find tears in his precious Kazu’s eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ohno is a retired spy who tried to leave his old life behind him. But things don't always work that way. I was unbelievably deep in love/ Secrets that left the appearance of a spiral*

After Nino left, he felt himself go numb again.  
  
Instead of reviewing every moment he had spent with Nino since the first time their hands had touched in the coffee shop or the first time they’d kissed or had sex or gone to the amusement part together, Ohno stared at the wall with no thoughts in his head at all.  
  
Another bowl of gruel had come, and Yokoyama gave him an unexpected consoling look before leaving it behind for him, but Ohno didn’t touch it and he never would.  
  
It had been several hours and Nino hadn’t tried to come back. Jun hadn’t either, although Ohno thought that was probably smart of him. He might be able to scrape together enough motivation to punch Jun several times if that happened.  
  
He almost hoped that Knuckles would return, though. Ohno felt like having the shit beaten out of him, and Knuckles had already proved he was the man to go to for something like that.  
  
No one came until late into the night (Ohno only knew because the hallway lights had dimmed a little), and when his door opened with a quiet click, it took the man shaking Ohno several times until the prisoner finally turned his head.  
  
“Aiba-chan.”  
  
“Come on, Oh-chan, let’s go.”  
  
Suddenly coming to life again at the appearance of his friend, Ohno sat up, although his body was sluggish and lethargic due to his depression.  
  
“How’d you know where I was?” he asked, even though he should probably be more focused on leaving.  
  
Aiba grinned at him and slowly ran his fingers through Ohno’s hair, and it was obvious that he had thought that the older man was dead until very recently. Aiba pulled him against his chest as he explained.  
  
“Nino wasn’t at home when I came over yesterday, but the door was open. He didn’t answer his cell phone, and neither did Jun. I thought it was strange, and took a moment to snoop around, trying to see where he’d gone,” Aiba’s voice was soft and comforting, and Ohno realized he had missed him too. “I found a camera on top of your shelf by accident. I traced it back to here and after a little research I discovered…”  
  
Aiba suddenly pulled back and gave Ohno a reproachful look. “Ohno, Nino-“ he started in a solemn tone, but was stopped by the other man.  
  
“I know.”  
  
“Ohno, I’m so sorry-“  
  
They hugged again and Ohno felt almost like he could finally let himself go, showing Aiba all his emotions.  
  
But they had to get out of here first.  
  
Aiba handed him a small box covered in knobs and gauges, which created electronic interference and would prevent them from showing up on any cameras or motion sensors upon their exit. It was something that Aiba had created himself several years ago and Ohno was happy that he hadn’t thrown them away after their retirement.  
  
“Just like the old days, right?” Aiba whispered as he handed over a small microphone and earpiece for communication as well as a pair of gloves. Ohno tried to force a smile, but in the end it was a grimace at best.  
  
Right when they were about to walk past the threshold of the door, the older man hesitated, picturing Nino from earlier, but Aiba pulled him forward and the two made their exit as smoothly as expected. Ohno and Aiba outclassed anyone that would work here. The only thing they had over the ex-agent was Nino, and now they didn’t even have that.  
  
Sho was driving the escape vehicle and grinned at Ohno as he and Aiba climbed into the back seat.  
  
“Ohno. Glad to see you alive.”  
  
“Likewise,” Ohno replied, but he still couldn’t push out the cheeky grin that would usually accompany that victory phrase.  
  
The car pulled away and Aiba gently guided the older man to lean against his shoulder and pretended not to watch as he finally broke down.  
  
+++  
  
Jun had taken half of his clothes off and was kissing his neck hard enough to leave a mark while Nino stared past him.  
  
He couldn’t feel anything, like Ohno had rubbed off on him. He kept seeing those dead eyes that used to hold so many emotions, and heard the man’s only words from that night repeating over and over in his head.  
  
“Stop,” he finally commanded when he couldn’t take any more.  
  
Jun looked startled. “But you said Ohno didn’t-“  
  
Nino silenced him with a glare and the younger man pulled away.  
  
“Leave me alone.” His words were harsh and even though he treated Jun much better than most of his subordinates, tonight he had no patience. He was frustrated that Ohno hadn’t come around.  
  
Oh well. He still had time.  
  
Jun pulled his clothes back on with an irritated and upset expression and then slammed the door behind him when he left.  
  
Standing, Nino distractedly made his way from the extravagant bed to his mahogany desk, where his precious piece of art that he had been craving for years sat staring back at him.  
  
He picked it up and ran his fingers over it again.  
  
At first he had been giddy, ecstatic that he finally had what he wanted, but after he had spoke with Ohno, Nino wasn’t so sure that this little piece of paper was worth the man that he had inadvertently fallen in love with.  
  
He had been dreading that moment, when Ohno found out that Kazu had been lying to him and shamelessly using him for his own end, but he had honestly expected Ohno to forgive him if he promised not to do it ever again.  
  
Of course he hadn’t had that chance to do that yet.  
  
He placed the Plexiglas frame back on the desk and rubbed his head. It hadn’t even been a full day yet, but he needed to see Ohno again.  
  
+++  
  
Aiba wouldn’t let Ohno return to his apartment, just in case they had overlooked something, and it actually didn’t matter to the freed man. Clothes he could replace, art supplies he could replace, moldy food he could replace. It was the hole in his chest that would be hard to deal with, but going back to his old place wouldn’t change that at all.  
  
Between the two of them, Sho and Aiba had grabbed enough to get by for a few weeks in a hotel that was about eight hours drive from Nino’s base (not far enough to be obvious, but not close enough to be in the lion’s den). When they didn’t run into anything unusual, they moved on to their final destination, a small but not entirely secluded city on the northern side of the country. Aiba had done his research and made arrangements before they arrived and Ohno was glad for that. He couldn’t function properly any more by himself.  
  
Just like before he had met Nino, when the ex-agent was rebuilding his life, hiding his past and trying to keep himself as discreet as possible, he found a part time job at a mundane place that he would be able to blend right in to (this time a seedier bar in the drinking district, the kind that had buzzing TVs in the corner and dirt that couldn’t be cleaned off the floor). He didn’t know a thing about mixing drinks, but a quick online tutorial gave him enough to at least be passable.  
  
He lived in an apartment a few blocks down from his place of employment, and he only left it to go to work, buy groceries, or visit Aiba and Sho-chan.  
  
They lived fairly close, but the trio had agreed that it was better to be separated than together, what with Aiba being all mushy with his boyfriend and all. Ohno liked it better that way, since he occasionally longed for the same touches that Sho would received from the newly-hired pastry chef, and he could brood at home when he wanted to without a cheerful Aiba looming over his shoulder.  
  
He made enough money to barely get by, which was something he actually reveled in after many years of being pampered, and no secret agents or henchmen had shown up on his doorstep yet.  
  
A month after he had settled in, Ohno was cleaning the filthy bar as best he could early in the evening when a news report that caught his attention came on.  
  
Carrying the grey rag in his hand, the bartender moved closer and turned the volume up a little.  
  
“...are calling it the most bizarre thievery of the year. As you can see behind me, a brown box appeared on the steps of the National Museum of Japanese History with the priceless Yoshitaka Amano replication of the Genji Scrolls, which was reported as stolen at the beginning of last month. The piece of art was in its original Plexiglas container, wrapped in newspaper and foam peanuts, with a note consisting of only a single word.”  
  
Ohno swallowed, watching the pictures on the screen change as the story progressed. Now they were doing a close up of the typed note which looked plain and indistinguishable.   
  
“ _Sorry_. Yes, the criminal _apologized_ for his crime and returned the piece of art to the museum which had the item under its care during the period in which it was stolen. There were no fingerprints found on the glass and-“  
  
Ohno stopped listening. He was smiling as he went back to work.  
  
He heard the same report four times during the course of the night, and his supervisor asked if he needed to go home and get some rest, since he might be getting delirious. Ohno grinned and offered to work overtime instead.  
  
+++  
  
It took Nino a year to find him.  
  
He’d hoped that returning the item in such an obvious way, insuring it would get news coverage, would be enough to bring Ohno out of hiding, at least enough that Nino's work would be fruitful, but still nothing came up.  
  
Working himself to fatigue, trying to find a _trace_ \--even just a hair would be enough--Nino abandoned the rag tag group of criminals he’d brought together over the years, leaving him with only Jun, who was heartbroken, but still the only man that Nino would consider a friend.  
  
After seeing how serious Nino was about finding Ohno, Jun eventually helped, even though he knew that the ex-agent would never want to see his deceiving curly head again, and after several months he had finally come up with something.  
  
One of the databases had associated a zip code with a letter that matched Aiba’s handwriting, and if Aiba was there, it was a tie to Ohno, even if they weren’t in the same place.  
  
But Nino, knowing the other two very well, figured that if anyone was taking care of Ohno (and someone was, if Ohno had been showing his true emotions to Nino that day in his cell), it would be Aiba and probably Sho along with him.  
  
So the two criminals, who were now considering themselves retired, picked up and lived out of a hotel in the main city of that prized zip code they had found.  
  
Three months passed. Nino had found a nice little café to sit in front of during the week, watching people walk down the street in hopes that he’d see a mop of gravity-resistant hair, or at least Aiba’s brown-bleached. He’d asked around a little, showing a picture that he kept in his wallet of the one time that Ohno had talked him into going to the ocean, even though he hated it there.  
  
Jun did the same, getting a job at the local police station in an attempt to hack into some networking connection that ran throughout the city, but nothing came of that either.  
  
Nino wasn’t going to give up, though. He had a good feeling about this place, like he was close but not quite working hard enough to reach his goal. Like he would run into Ohno on the train without meaning to and his love would say, _oh, I’ve been here the whole time_.  
  
He got his break one day after telling a man at a bar a sappy story about his boyfriend leaving him to return home to take over the family business. The bartender had glanced at the picture as Nino waved it around drunkenly (although he wasn’t drunk at all), and mentioned that he’d seen that chipmunk man at his brother’s bar down the street.  
  
Nino thanked him and immediately paid his tab before leaving.  
  
His heart was racing as he pushed open the door, wondering if he’d followed the man’s directions properly, or if Ohno would be on shift right now, or if Aiba was going to corner him first and beat him into a pulp.  
  
But there was his prize slowly wiping his hand across the counter before sitting down a beer for the man in front of him.  
  
Ohno didn’t look surprised when Nino took up a seat at the empty end of the bar and ordered a shot of tequila.  
  
“Ah, my personal preference,” he said with a twinkle in his eye, barely looking at Nino.  
  
“I know.”  
  
Ohno didn’t say any more as he cleaned a glass and set it on the counter, pouring the drink and then gently pushing it towards Nino.  
  
The younger man grabbed his wrist, his own hand shaking a little, and stared at the treasure that he’d spent so much time looking for. He’d been here the whole time after all, and he was _real_.  
  
“Aiba wouldn’t let me find you,” Ohno explained in a quiet, calm voice.  
  
“I f-figured.” Nino’s whole body was trembling in relief and want, nervous over what was going to happen now, but content that he didn’t have to wait any more.  
  
“Kazu…?” his counterpart asked softly, leaning over the bar a little, and Nino suddenly felt like that whole betrayal, separation, search, had never happened.  
  
“I promise I’ll never lie to you again.” He knew he sounded desperate, but desperate was what he was.  
  
Ohno smiled gently and Nino didn’t know what that meant.  
  
“I’ll never ask you to steal anything again, not even a piece of bread if we’re starving.”  
  
“Sorry, but you’ll have to steal my heart back first,” Ohno replied teasingly.  
  
Nino grinned. “I can do that.” His arms and legs felt like they were being filled with heavy and watery relief. “How long until you get off?”  
  
“Six hours.”  
  
That was a hell of a lot shorter than a year.

**Author's Note:**

> *The title and summary are taken from yarukizero's translation of [Spiral](http://yarukizero.livejournal.com/14751.html).
> 
>  
> 
> This was my first work writing straight Ohmiya. I don't usually write this pairing, but the idea for the story came first and then I put the Arashi members where they fit in the storyline and Ohmiya came out as the pairing. That might seem like a weird way of thinking to anyone but me, I guess.


End file.
